– Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, new comics publisher Bad Idea has postponed their initial launch date of May 6, 2020. In addition to delaying the release of their first title, “ENIAC,” the company has created a $25,000 emergency relief fund to be equally distributed among the 100 stores participating in the Bad Idea Destination Store program. Bad Idea says that instead of slowing down, their creators are ramping up, doubling their workload.

– The creative team behind “Ice Cream Man” announced Quarantine Comix, which will see new “Ice Cream Man” mini-comics. The stories will be 2-4 pages and will be released up to twice a week. The comics will be released as PDFs at $1.99 a piece. Half of the profits will go to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (BINC), which supports struggling booksellers, and at this time, local comic book stores.

– Newsarama reports Lion Forge Labs has closed and laid off all of their employees due to the economic struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lion Forge Labs developed comics, animation, and content for gaming to other companies including Microsoft, the United Way, and the St. Louis Cardinals. It was a sister company to Oni Press, Lion Forge Comics, and Lion Forge Animation.

– Marvel Unlimited is now offering free comics until May 4, 2020. The month long offer will feature stories like “Avengers Vs. X-Men,” “Civil War” and ‘The Dark Phoenix Saga’ among other notable events and issues. Izneo will also be giving away a month of its Premium service for free.

– Rick Veitch (“The One”) was named this year’s Vermont cartoonist laureate, succeeding Alison Bechdel. As a result of the pandemic, he became the first cartoonist laureate to be inaugurated via livestream. When asked what he will do with his title, Veitch suggested advocacy for supporting education, stating “I would like our legislatures to think along those lines — to pay kids to go to school. It’s crazy to go to school and graduate 50, 60, 100 thousand dollars in debt. It’s madness. We have to invest in our kids.”

– Palestinian cartoonist Ismael el-Bozom has been repeatedly arrested by Hamas-affiliated authorities. The Committee to Protect Journalists says Hamas security forces should stop harassing the cartoonist. El-Bozom was arrested on March 20th and March 26th. He was released without charge on March 29 under measures to avoid the spread of the COVID-19 virus. In both cases, el-Bozom’s arrests were sparked by political cartoons critical of Hamas. To read more, check out the Committee to Protect Journalists website.

– CBR reports that Anne T. Murphy-Goodwin, the wife of the late comics professional Archie Goodwin, passed away on March 27, 2020. Murphy-Goodwin is survived by her children Jen and Seth, and their spouses Gerard Guerin and Meg Fellerath. Archie Goodwin worked for both Marvel and DC. His work on Manhunter backups for “Detective Comics” with Walter Simonson has earned many accolades, and it’s something Simonson credits both Archie and Anne with helping make possible. Murphy-Goodwin was an artist as well as an advocate for equality and women’s rights.

– Deadline reports that the release date of TNT’s Snowpiercer has been pushed forward. Initially slated to air May 31, 2020, the long awaited show will premiere May 17, 2020. The show is based on the 2013 movie of the same name, itself based off the French graphic novel “Le Transperceneige.” The show stars Daveed Diggs and Jennifer Connelly and is produced by Tomorrow Studios, along with CJ Entertainment, which produced the film.

– Varietyreports that Disney have hired Joby Harold to replace Hossein Amini as writer on the Disney+ Obi-Wan Kenobi series. Amini left the project back in January. This will be Harold’s first time writing for a television series. Harold has previously worked on John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum and is also writing the script for Zack Snyder’s film Army of the Dead. Harold, along with James Vanderbilt, was selected to develop a new take on the Transformers franchise.

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– Finally, long-running website Comics Bulletin have shut down. “You may have noticed that our site has gone dark for a couple of weeks,” they tweeted. “Due to several factors, the decision has been made to close up shop. Thank you to all of our contributors throughout the years. It’s been one hell of a ride.”

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Matt Garza

Matt was born and raised on the south side of Chicago, but is really a Cubs fan. When he's not reading comics , he's most likely sleeping next to his dog. He does not breathe actual fire. Despite several warnings, he will never stop giving the children in his family superhero clothing. You can find him on Twitter here.

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